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DNA - A Prosecutor’s Practice Notebook Inventory

Match Explanation

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First the DNA analyst must determine whether a match exists in the case. Secondly, the DNA analyst must provide the jury with the statistical calculations to demonstrate how statistically significant the match is. The DNA analyst should tell the jury the statistics are calculated using well-accepted methods.

The random match probability (RMP) is the probability that a randomly selected person would have the same DNA profile as thought found in the evidence sample. It also expresses the frequency with which one would expect to find a particular DNA profile in the population. This statistic is obtained using the product rule. The DNA analyst need explain no more than the fact that the product rule is the standard method used by the scientific community.
 

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